Effect of seeing/hearing a musician/conductor live

[johnb]

I wondered - does having been present at a live performance influence how you regard a musician or a conductor (assuming the performance was good, of course)?

It seems a silly question but I find that I have much warmer feelings towards musicians I have seen live (e.g. Barbirolli, Haitink, Colin Davis, Radu Lupu, Uchida, Brendel, Steven Osborne, etc). Some vague emotional bond is forged and when I listen to one of their recordings I see them in my minds eye. Somehow they seem more real, rather than a disembodied sound emanating from my audio system. Or perhaps I mean that I respond to them more readily.

Do others feel similarly or am I a bit odd (or odder than ever)?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I very much agree with this. In my teenage years, I thought Boult was rather boring, but having seen him conduct Vaughan Williams' London Symphony in Manchester, all that changed. But I never thought Barbirolli was anything other than magnificent - I was brought up on his live performances.

[Cellini]

All the conductors I've watched have been dead. Sort of life after death ...

[Eudaimonia]

I wondered - does having been present at a live performance influence how you regard a musician or a conductor (assuming the performance was good, of course)?

Oh, not necessarily. It often depends on how close I am to the stage--and whether I notice anything about their manner that reveals something about what they're like and whether or not we'd get along. Usually nothing, but every once in awhile I see someone who looks like an exceptionally interesting character.

Sometimes, seeing a performer in person makes me take an active dislike to them. It's a lot easier to tell if someone's "mugging for the camera" and being insincere when you're a few feet away from them. Even worse, I once was watching a famous opera singer in a scene with a child-- the guy basically pushed the kid aside as he was getting to his feet. What kind of {bleep} pushes kids just because his solo is coming up? Nice, huh! When I mentioned it to some people who knew him, it turns out he really is as much of a big-headed selfish narcissist as he seemed. Go figure!

[BBMmk2]

I find that I feel connected to the musician already, via the cd format, with the way of their playing, which can be very good way of saying on how the way they can communicate to the listener.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I was never much of a Bernstein fan until I saw him conduct (and play the piano) live. He had a reputation of being rather extreme, but his performances of Haydn, Ravel and Schumann were most sensitive.

[amateur51]

I think that you may well be on to something johnb.

Oddly there are some people whose stage presence puts me off seeing them 'live' - Uchida & Bernstein - and yet the stage presences of Rattle and Brendel do not.

I guess it's not a science.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

And it affects people in different ways. There was a thread about Lang Lang's stage manner at the Proms, which many found off-putting, but for others it was not an issue.

[Rolmill]

It's a good question - in addition to the points already mentioned, I find it interesting to see whether a technically impressive performer on CD is able to reproduce their virtuosity live! That can affect my view of their recordings subsequently. I'm not so affected by stage mannerisms (e.g. I find Rattle's gurning off-putting live, but that doesn't stop me enjoying his recordings).

[johnb]

It's a good question - in addition to the points already mentioned, I find it interesting to see whether a technically impressive performer on CD is able to reproduce their virtuosity live! That can affect my view of their recordings subsequently. I'm not so affected by stage mannerisms (e.g. I find Rattle's gurning off-putting live, but that doesn't stop me enjoying his recordings).

For me it is frequently the other way round. Very often, what is a thrilling performance when heard live can be somewhat disappointing when listening to a recorded broadcast of the very same performance (or listening to, say, an LSO Live recording of it).

Also there are those conductors whose (studio) recordings often fail to capture what they bring to a live performance (Haitink is one example).

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Seing Nigel Kennedy perform the Elgar Concerto live in 1988 was a revelation.

[Petrushka]

I very much agree with johnb in his original post. I saw Karajan live just the once (RFH Bruckner 8 19/6/79) but that occasion is etched on my memory and I feel that connection whenever I hear one of his CD's no matter what the work. I experience what johnb calls 'warm feelings' most strongly if I listen to a CD of a work I have seen the conductor/soloist perform. Moreover, I make a big effort to collect CD's of artists I've seen in works I've seen them do. I haven't yet got round to playing a complete Mahler cycle by the same artists I've seen do them in performance but it is perfectly possible and sometimes in the very concert I attended.

[StephenO]

I wondered - does having been present at a live performance influence how you regard a musician or a conductor (assuming the performance was good, of course)?

That can certainly be true. I'm not sure if I would be such an admirer of Gustavo Dudamel if I hadn't seen him at Symphony Hall back in 2005 shortly before he became well known. The Gothenburg SO were to have been conducted by Neeme Jarvi in Tchaikovsky, Sibelius and Tubin but, as Jarvi was indisposed, Dudamel stood in for him. Although the hall was unusually empty, Dudamel conducted one of the most exciting performances of Francesca da Rimini I've ever heard. Since then I've made a point of buying his recordings and have rarely been disappointed.

[Ferretfancy]

I think it's probably wrong of me, but I deliberately avoid one or two conductors whose platform mannerisms act as a complete barrier between me and enjoyment of the music. One such is Daniel Harding. On the whole I am not easily put off when the performances are good, as an example the soulful look on the face of Stephen Isserlis can be a bit off putting, but I love his playing.

[Curalach]

I deliberately avoid one or two conductors whose platform mannerisms act as a complete barrier between me and enjoyment of the music.

Osmo Vanska is my bete noire in this regard. He is a very fine conductor and has produced many excellent recordings but I think his platform mannerisms are grotesque. He was not always so affected. During his time with the BBCSSO I frequently saw him conduct and didn't have a problem with it. He seems to have developed his current style in America.